The Fox and The Teme
by King Charlie
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke are having to juggle married life with missions and a three year old son Menma. Sasuke is worn out from the stress of their daily life while Naruto is full of energy as always. Once being Hokage becomes an options Naruto must choose between his family and his home on who gets his attention.
1. Chapter 1

Sasuke clutched onto Naruto jacket to pull him closer and deepen their kiss. The Uchiha was throwing caution to the wind for the night and pushing his self restraint into the darkest corner of his mind. By tomorrow morning he would have to leave again on another mission he shouldn't come back from and this would be a small fading memory for the blond.

Naruto pulled back to breathe and looked in Sasuke's dark eyes, "What's got you in the mood all the sudden? You've been colder than normal the past couple of days." Naruto started to pout even as he nuzzled his nose up Sasuke's neck, "I thought you were mad at me." He started to leave fleeting kisses over Sasuke's creamy white skin. "You know I leave tomorrow idiot. If I don't put out I have to listen to you whine when I come home even though we have sex more than most married couples. You should be thankful for what you have" Sasuke rolled his eyes and huffed out a sigh, not wanting the blonde to be suspicious about his actions. Naruto pulled Sasuke away from the wall and gently pushed him back towards the bed, crawling over the raven haired man's body when it laid back into the mattress. The blonde pushed up Sasuke's shirt and trailed kissed up the Uchiha's torso while he was removing it, sneaking in an occasional nip of his teeth just to get a small gasp out of Sasuke before he would get a chance to stifle it. "If you keep teasing me, I'll just go to bed you moron." Sasuke propped himself up on his elbows and tossed his shirt to the side, eyeing the blonde questioningly. Looking down at Naruto he could tell that he was planning on ignoring his request just like he always did, the only time he ever listened to Sasuke was when he acted dominate or told him to stop. "Does it bother you that much? You always act like I'm up to something." Naruto muttered over Sasuke's stomach while he worked to remove the pants that were separating the blondes face from Sasuke's crotch. Sasuke rolled his eyes and sat up in the bed, bending to kiss Naruto delicately. "That's only because you're always up to something." He smiled through the kiss and laid back down to let Naruto keep exploring the well know territory that was his pale body.

Sasuke's fingers threaded through blonde locks, pulling closer and pushing away at the same time while his hips flexed at the irregular pattern of Naruto's movements. The Uchiha let out several small moans that he tried to muffle by biting his lip. The blonde always had a way of making him feel so comfortable with these types of affection, something no one else had ever managed. His thumb stroked the whiskers cheek when his head raised slightly from the mattress to view the sight of Naruto sucking him off. Adding visual to the already physical stimulus he had pushed him ever closer to his release. "N-naruto. . .I'm getting cloSER!" Sasuke's sentence was cut off abruptly when Naruto managed to open wide enough for Sasuke's entire girth to fit in the blonde's mouth. "Fucking Christ. . ." The raven muttered out and closed his eyes, feeling nearly overwhelmed by Naruto's throat constricting around him. After more panting and muffled cries, Sasuke came faster than he would have liked but Naruto complained about him holding back when he did. Laying back in bed there was a thin sheet of sweat coating his naked form.

Naruto removed the remainder of his clothing before laying on the bed neck to Sasuke, snuggling close to his heated body. "Do you need to rest?" Naruto lips were against Sasuke's temple when he questioned the panting Uchiha who nodded slowly with his eyes closed. "You really should work on your stamina Sasuke. You're never gonna keep up with me like-" Naruto's head turned towards their door when he heard a soft cry that started to get louder. His heart sank from the sound of it and quickly got up to pull on a pair of sweat pants before rushing out of the room. Sasuke sighed and pulled his boxers back on and pulled his arms through his robe while he walked into the hallway towards the sound. He moved past Naruto and bent over to pick up Menma who was making grabby hands at him. "What's wrong Menma? Can you not fall asleep or did you have a bad dream?" Menma pouted out further, his lower lip quivering while his tiny fists rubbed his eyes to hide tears. "S'not sweepy." His little voice was barely auditable, Sasuke held him closer in a hug and patted his little back. "If you want to go to sleep just lay down sweet heart, you don't need to try so hard." Sasuke was aware that he was most likely staying up because he wanted attention all the way up until the point where he actually fell asleep which would be fine if he wanted it from Naruto would was constantly codling but it was always at night that he wouldn't settle for anyone but Sasuke. "Menma! Menma! Come on, you can sleep with daddy!" Naruto held his arms out to take the child from Sasuke but to no avail. "No! Want papa!" The boy gripped onto Sasuke's robe and hide his face in the shoulder. The smile fell right off of Naruto's face and his shoulder's slumped, a heart breaking sight for Sasuke. "You can't be upset that he only wants my attention at one in the morning, you should find yourself lucky." Sasuke cradled the three year old in his arms at sat down in the chair next to Menma's bed to hold him until he finally fell asleep. "Just to lay in bed, I'll find you when he's done needing me." The blonde pouted the whole way back to his own bedroom and plopped back on the bed, shuffling his legs to move up and lay his head on the pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke jolted awake with a start, clutching the sleeping child to his chest. He had dozed off before Menma had and accidently spent the night in the chair with the fussy three old drooling on him. The little boy sat up in Sasuke's lap and started to rub his eyes with tiny fists and looked at the string of spit that connected him to his father. "Sowwy papa." The Uchiha couldn't help but smile at the cute sleepy child. "I'd rather it be out of that end than the other. Come on, if you're awake then it's time to get dressed and get some food in you." He picked Menma up and put him on the floor to stand on his own, tottering after Sasuke while he pulled clean clothes out for the dresser for him. "Do you have to potty?" Sasuke knew the answer without having to ask but was trying to get Menma to tell them when he would want something. "Nooo!" Sasuke turned around to see the small boy holding his crotch as he stood and danced on his feet slightly. "If you go potty on your own you can pick what you want for breakfast." Big blue eyes lit up and Menma tottered out of the room in the direction of the bathroom. Taking the folded clothes with him and a clean pull up Sasuke followed the boy into the hallway and waited next to the door for him. "Papa!" With a smile Sasuke peeked his head into the bath room and saw Menma sitting on his small training toilet with his hands above his head, a giant grin on his face for his achievement. "I pooped!" Sasuke entered the bathroom and stooped over to kiss the top of Menma's head. "Good job sport. Wipe and wash your hands like Daddy taught you then come get dressed with me okay?" Menma nodded happily and Sasuke left to enter his own bedroom to see a snoring Naruto clinging to the Uchiha's pillow that no doubt smelled of him. Sasuke placed Menma's clothes at the foot of their bed and sat on the edge behind Naruto, his pale hand resting on the blonde's hip to gently shake him awake. "Naruto, its morning. Get up sleepy head."

Naruto was reluctant as always to wake up, rolling over he clung to Sasuke's waist and nuzzled his face into the Uchiha's crotch. "Five more minutes." Sasuke sighed out and tried to detach him but to no avail. It wasn't until Menma ran in their room naked and attempted to crawl on their bed that Naruto showed any sign of life. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Instantly sitting up and looking over the side of the bed with a smile he scooped the giddy child into his arms. "What are you doing awake, little man? Did you miss me that much?" Naruto always beamed when he was around his son who was obviously the light of his life. "No Daddy, I pooped!" They both giggled and Naruto blew a raspberry on Menma's neck to make him giggle even louder. "Does that mean I have to make you breakfast now?" The child nodded through his laughter and crawled out of Naruto's arms to make his way over Sasuke to get dressed. Naruto stood to get dressed while Sasuke put a clean pull up and clothes on their son, not waiting on them before he headed into the kitchen and started to make tea for himself and Sasuke.

When he felt small arms wrap around his calf he looked down to ask Menma what he wanted for breakfast to get a very enthusiastic cheer. "Toast! Toast! Toast!" He picked up the smiling child and set him on the counter while he prepared breakfast. Sasuke entered the kitchen and picked Menma off the counter along with his mug of tea, kissing Naruto on the shoulder before he walked to their dining table and set Menma in his booster seat. "What's Daddy making you for breakfast?" Sasuke took a banana from the bowl on the table and peeled it, offering a bite to Menma who happily took it before Sasuke bit into it himself. "Twosfs!" Menma blurted out with his cheeks full. "Chew your food sweetie, then speak." The boy over exaggerated his chewing before swallowing and answering Sasuke again. "That's all you want? Do you want your cereal or anything else?" Menma shook his head and opened him mouth again, signaling to Sasuke that he wanted more banana. "Why do you also eat my food more than your own?" He patted the boys head while he teased him and smoothed down his unruly hair that he clearly inherited from Naruto even if it was raven black like the Uchiha's. He continued to feed Menma bites of banana when he would open his mouth for it, knowing full well he wouldn't just eat it on his own. There was something about the routine him and Naruto had made the morning with their son that always made Sasuke feel ever so thankful for getting his head on straight and coming home.

"Hey Menma, guess what." Menma giggled and hide his face in his small hands. "Wha papa?" Sasuke leaned forward and kissed his son on the forehead. "I love you, that's what." The boy was lost in another fit of giggles and squealed in delight when Naruto put a plate with two pieces of toast in front of him. The blonde sat beside Menma and across from Sasuke, occasionally helping his son tear the crust off of his toast much to Sasuke's displeasure. "You know he won't eat it so stop giving me that look."

"The reason he won't eat it is because you won't make him and he knows he can get away with it."

"You act like I'm codling him."

Sasuke snorted and nearly choked on his bite of food, having to slap his chest slightly and cough before he could speak again. "That is the definition of what you do Naruto."

"I do not! _You're being such an asshole_." Naruto spoke under his breath to try and keep Menma from hearing him curse.

"Papa? Was an asshowle?" He looked over at Sasuke with giant blue eyes and crumbs of toast stuck to his cheeks. The question earned Naruto a glare but he couldn't help chuckling over it. "That's what papa is Menma but don't tell anyone." Naruto brushed crumbs off Menma's cheeks as en excuse to look away from Sasuke, when he did look up he knew he would pay for his comment later.

"Regardless. You know I have to leave this afternoon so you'll both be on your own for the next two days. Make sure he eats what he's supposed to, not what he wants to."

"You're acting like I've never taken care of him on my own."

Sasuke rolled his eyes again and tilted his head to the side to chastise Naruto with more than words. "You haven't. Last time Sakura stayed over for three days and you cried just as much as he did."

"Okay okay okay!" Naruto put his hands up defensively to try and calm Sasuke down. "Do you wanna sleep in bed with Daddy for the next couple of days, Menma?" The little boy nodded and kept gumming on his piece of toast. "See? We'll be okay while you're gone. I know the difference between Desitin and Bengay now so everything will be just fine." Naruto was sure that Menma was just as scared from the past experience as he was.

After they cleaned up their breakfast mess Naruto and Sasuke changed into their Jōnin uniforms while Menma hopped around their room repeatedly asking if it was time for him to get his back pack. "Yes sweetheart, you can go get it now. Daddy will walk you to school when you're ready to leave." The boy hurried out of their room and handed Naruto his shoes and his backpack when he came back. Once the three of them were dressed Naruto locked up and they walked down the street, Menma sitting on Naruto's shoulders but occasionally reaching over and grabbing onto the Uchiha's hair to remind him that he was there. Eventually Sasuke reached up and let Menma hold onto his finger for the rest of the way to his school. When they dropped him off he hugged both his fathers and kissed them on their noses. "Daddy will pick you up at the end of the day okay? Stay in your class room until then."

"Yes Daddy. I loves you." Menma moved back over to Sasuke and hugged his calf again. "You too Papa."

"Do you have to meet in Tsunade's office before you leave?"

"Yes. Sai is taking your place on Team 7 for this mission. I assume they didn't want us leaving at the same time again."

Naruto frowned and seemed uncomfortable about the thought of leaving Menma with someone else for more than a night. "Yeah. Take care of yourself, okay?" Sasuke stepped close to Naruto and kissed him softly. "You too dobe." He was gone before the blonde could open his eyes again. Sighing out he strolled over towards the front gates of Konoha to sit at his post for the day and wait until this afternoon when he could pick Menma up from school again, knowing he wouldn't smile again until he saw one of them.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto yawned and stretched his arms over his head while he was walking towards Menma's school to pick up his son. Sakura had forced him into doing manual labor all day and his muscles were sore from the unexpected work out. He smiled back at Menma's teacher who stood in the door way to greet the parents when they came to pick up their children, peeking his head inside he didn't see Menma and assumed he was hiding and wanted to be found before he would leave. "Was he a handful today? He's always more riled up when Sasuke has to leave for a few days."

"He wasn't too bad today but he seemed to be a little down in the morning. Menma has however shown a lot of interested in attempting to copy you and Sasuke-sama when it was comes to jutsu's. It might be time to have a simple talk to him about chakra control to see if he understands the concept; it could get him a head start before he goes to academy."

"He's already doing stuff? He won't even be four until March." Naruto had a wide proud grin on his face, rubbing the back of his head while he thought about it. Menma however was hiding under the desk and watching the two adults talk, annoyed that his teacher was getting attention he wasn't. The look on his face was nearly identical to the one that Sasuke wore when women would try to flirt with Naruto. Looking down at his little hand and he almost growled at is as he tried to copy what he had seen Naruto do a few times, a small blue swirl about the size of a marble formed but it was uneven shaped and look like it would fall apart. Menma ran at him while he had the chance and hopped up to try and hit Naruto in the stomach with it but was too short and ended up smacking his dad in the groin. "Raaaaaaaasenga!"

Naruto's face contorted and he dropped to his knees with his hands between his legs; it felt like he had the worst rug burn of his life on his balls. He fell over to his side and looked up at a chuckling Menma, "Why did you hurt daddy?" His voice was choked out and forced. The laughing boy sat on the ground in front of Naruto and just smiled at him, wrapping his little arms around the blonde's head. "I miss'd you daddy." Naruto eyes were scrunched together and he was tearing up. "I missed you too little guy."

After a few minutes of sitting on the ground with Menma Naruto was able to stand again, he picked up his son to sit on his shoulder while they walked back to their house.

Naruto kicked off his sandals and let Menma hold onto the thigh of his pants so he didn't fall over when he took his shoes off. "So what am I making you for a snack bud?" Naruto picked Menma up by the grabby hands he was giving him and carried him to the kitchen, setting him on the counter when he got there. "You can have some fruit or Jell-O or gam gams. . ." The blonde opened up the cabinet to check what they still had for their son's snacks. "Gam gams daddy." Menma held onto the side of the counter and kicked his legs while Naruto prepared a snack for him. "You want some jelly on them too?" Menma shook his head and pointed to the bowl of fruit on the dinning room. "You want a banana too?" Menma shook his head and smiled. Naruto set him down on the floor so he could carry his plate to set on the dinning room table before picking Menma back up and setting him in his high chair. Naruto new better than to just cut the banana up for him, when he peeled it he took a bite before holding it out to Menma for him to gum off a bite.

"Why do you always wanna eat daddy and papa's food? Does it taste better when it's ours?" Naruto smiled at him while Menma took another bite, leaving graham cracker crumbs on it. The boy only laughed and nodded. "Daddy gots best foos." Menma started to chew on another square of grahm cracker while Naruto stood up to get him a sippy cup with some milk in it. "Slow down buddy, drink some between bites okay?" He wiped some soggy pieces off Menma's chin.

"You want your nap now or did you wanna do something else?" Naruto cradled Menma in his arms who looked like he would fall asleep at any moment but he asked anyway to see if his son would get fussy if laid down. The boy nodded and tried to roll in Naruto's arms and nuzzle his face in his chest. The blonde carried him into him and Sasuke's room to lay in bed with Menma, aware that he also wanted a nap with his son. He set Menma close to the head of the bed and placed a pillow behind him so he wouldn't try to roll out of the bed and laid down on his other side so he would be able to snuggle next to Naruto if he wanted.

Naruto was woken up by Menma crying softly and clinging to the front of Naruto's shirt. "What's wrong little man? You feeling okay?" The blonde felt his son's forehead then pulled back the seat of Menma's shorts to see if he had wet himself. "Wan Papa." He looked up at Naruto with sad little blue eyes that were full of tears which nearly made Naruto start crying himself. "I know little guy, I miss him too. He's gonna come home soon okay? You don't wanna be all red faced when he does for him to worry do you?" Menma shook his head and nuzzled his face against the chest of Naruto's shirt to wipe the tears from his face.

It hurt Naruto to know that he wasn't always able to provide Menma with everything he needed. He was a great and loving father but he needed Sasuke around more than he was, not that Menma loved one over the other but he loved them the same equally at different times and didn't always want one. "I'll make you what ever you want for dinner okay? Then we can play some and wait for Papa to come home together."


	4. Chapter 4

The weekend seemed to go on forever and Menma's fits without Sasuke being around only grew worse the longer he was away until on the last night he couldn't fall asleep. No matter what Naruto did he was unable to get Menma to fall asleep, let alone lay down long enough to try. The next morning they were both fussy and in a grouchy mood and they both choose to suffer in silence. Naruto changed into his jonin uniform and attempted to make Menma breakfast which turned into him throwing pancakes all over the kitchen. Growing impatient he choose to just take Menma into his room and help him get dressed for school.

"Now go get your shoes buddy, we gotta leave soon."

Letting out a long yawn while tying his forehead protector in place Naruto sat on the couch to wait for his son. After only just a minute his head dipped forward in exhaustion and he couldn't manage to keep himself awake any longer.

Menma tottered in with his shoes in one hand and his other as a fist that was rubbing his eyes from crying most of the night. Seeing as his father had fallen asleep he dropped his shoes on the way to the couch, crawled up to were Naruto was and curled up in his lap where soon after he too fell asleep.

That was how Sasuke returned to his home; his husband and son drooling on the couch while the kitchen has at least 20 pancakes tossed about it. Letting out a heavy sigh he took his ruck sack to the bedroom where he set it down and promised himself he would take care of it later when he had the time and energy. Going back to the kitchen he cleaned up the mess the others have made before carrying Menma then Naruto back to their bedrooms where they were able to continue sleeping.

Menma peeked open his eyes and smiled sleepily, snuggling closer to Sasuke and murmuring into the chest of his shirt while he clung to it. "Miss'd you papa~" He quickly fell back asleep between his fathers and they all stayed that way until sunset when hunger set upon them which noisy growls.

"I'm not saying you didn't do the best you could Naru but it seems like he misses school every time I have to go out of town." Sasuke spoke in a hushed voice while washing the dishes from their dinner as he didn't want to wake Menma who had fallen back to sleep in his own room this time.

"I can't just make him fall asleep. He barely eats when you leave Sas let alone sleep. I can't sleep either when he's laying in bed crying and you know I don't have the heart to leave him crying alone in his own bed." Naruto leaned back against the counter, drying things as they were handed to him then putting them back in their own spot in the cabinets.

"I just think that out of the two of us I should be the one to leave more than you. I don't know why, maybe he's got to much of me in him and he's more sensitive while you're gone or something but he really doesn't handle being away from you well." Naruto affectionately rubbed Sasuke back. He also suffered from being away from Sasuke too long, having to remember the days of their youth when the Uchiha he had fallen in love with left and stayed away for years from his own choice.

They both seemed to sigh together over the problem. It wasn't fair to ask either one of them to start taking less missions but something had to change if they were going to keep functioning as a normal family.

"I'll talk to Sakura tomorrow, maybe she can pull some strings and I'll only have to accept missions that don't span more than two days." Sasuke shut off the water and took the towel from Naruto to dry his hands. "But don't even think for a moment that this means you get to start accepting S rank missions again." He pointed at the blonde in a very threatening manner.

"I know, I don't wanna go through that again either. Let's just take a bath and go to sleep."

Sasuke relaxed back against Naruto for what seemed like the first time of the night, the blonde was slowly massaging the tension from his shoulders while they soaked in the hot water of their bath. "Did you at least go grocery shopping like I told you to while I was gone?"

"Yes and I made sure the Menma's semester was paid for until next year, I did the laundry and put all your scrolls back where you wanted them. I had to do something while I was awake all night." Naruto kissed the back of Sasuke's neck and started to rub down his back, smiling at the soft groan he managed to work out of him.

"I am occasionally a good husband 'ttebayo."

"You're always the best husband, just normally the most forgetful." Another groan left Sasuke's lips and his eyes started to close, even from just the rubbing of his back the hot water helped his whole body start to feel better and improved his mood drastically.

"Does this mean I'll get 'I missed you' sex?"

"Don't press your luck. Get me back in bed before you ask stupid questions." Even if his smirk wasn't seen by Naruto the blonde surely heard it in his voice.


	5. Chapter 5

Sasuke let out another soft groan when Naruto pushed into him, three days felt like a life time that they had spent apart. The blonde kissed tenderly over pale collar bone, enjoying the feel of Sasuke's skin under his lips again. "I really did miss you." A grin graced his lips even as Naruto kept them close to Sasuke's neck when he spoke, unwilling to pause his assault of kissing to speak.

Sasuke linked their fingers together, turning his head to kiss Naruto's wedding band and bucked his hips under his husband, urging him to stop speaking and continue what they were doing. "I missed you too Naruto."

Their voices changed into lustful panting between them, Sasuke groaning out to make Naruto move faster or slow down, wielding all control over him even when he would bottom. Naruto's eyes would dart over his husbands face, completely intoxicated with the way his face would pinch up at times than relax into something so serene. With a final thrust the blonde was left gasping after his release, his forehead pressed against a pale one while it let out a long moan, climaxing just after his husband had.

They laid there in each others arms silently for some time, Sasuke's fingers twirling and smoothing out strands of blonde hair while his mind seemed to drift off some where far from her. "You know, we really need to stop having to take two baths a night." Sasuke chuckled out lowly and kissed the top of Naruto's head.

"You shouldn't make me sit through a bath with you before you'll put out then." Naruto rolled off the Uchiha so he was able to stand and walk to the bathroom where he was able to rinse off again. Sasuke slipped on a pair of loose sweat pants and laid down, finally be able to enjoy his bed when Naruto snuggled against him and they fell asleep.

Menma woke up earlier than he did normally and rubbed his tiny eyes so he could blink the word in focus. He tossed his blanket on the floor and tottered off in his footie pajamas to the bathroom, taking off his bottoms before going pee like Papa had shown him. While trying to pee his started to blink slowly and ended up falling back to sleep.

Sasuke woke up at 06:00 am as he did every day automatically and stood to check in on Menma but when he was in his bed and double check Naruto and his own room to make sure he hadn't curled up some where and fallen asleep waiting on them to wake up. After checking their bathroom he checked the one in the hallway and had to put his hand over his mouth to keep from 'awwing' out loud. Going back into their bedroom he snagged Naruto's camera off the dresser and took a picture of his son who was sitting on the toilet in just his sleep shirt, head lulled to the side with drool seeping from the corner of his mouth, passed out cold. Snapping a photo he went back to his bedroom and worked on the hard task of waking up Naruto.

"Trust me, go in the bathroom and look at your son." The blonde blinked at Sasuke as if he were stupid for waking him up so early but listened, pulling on some shorts and scratching his stomach while he walked into the hallway. He let out a soft chuckle and turned back to look dreamily at Sasuke.

"Don't you have a picture of me doing that after a mission?" The Uchiha nodded and showed Naruto he had taken a picture. "I figured we could frame both and put them up on the mantle next to each other." Naruto shook his head and kissed Sasuke's cheek then attended to his dozing son. "Wake up buddy; you're sleeping on the pot." Slowly Menma came too and smiled at his father. "I pooped daddy."

"Good boy. Wipe up and wash your hands then we can go back to sleep for a few more hours okay?" The little boy nodded and his fathers left him to his own business, one laying back in bed and waiting for the toddler to join him while the other worked to lay out everyone's clothing for the day, set the kitchen in order for later and picked up the few toys that Menma had left laying about before he went to bed.

The house was full and seemed to warm up when they were all together as a family. Their dwelling started to wake along with the rest of the world. Naruto did finally get out of bed and hour later and gave Menma a bath before drying him off and making him breakfast even if he ate more of Sasuke's than his own. They carried him to school together and gave him several kisses and a few tickles before having to part ways again as Sasuke had to debrief his mission report in the basement of the Hokage building while Naruto had to meet with Sakura in Tsunade's office. Being the ever hopeless romantic Naruto stole his husband back behind a shelf for a moment to give him a breathless kiss along with a pinch to his butt that earned him a swat. Sasuke fixed a glare on him for a moment that didn't last very long and started to giggle shyly when Naruto started to kiss his neck and tell him just how completely in love he was.

"Hush or we'll be heard. Go to your meeting. I won't have you being late." Sasuke straightened Naruto's forehead protector than fixed his own hair, kissing the tip of the blonde's nose before pulling away. "I'll come upstairs and find you when I'm done with this." Naruto managed to keep a hold of Sasuke's hand and pull him back by it, kissing his wedding band and Sasuke had done the previous night then looked dreamily up at him. "I'll miss you ever minute you're gone." With a blush and a smile Sasuke pulled away completely and was able to make it to his own meeting on time while Naruto kept his group of people waiting as expected of him, a bad habit he had picked up from Kakashi who was surprisingly there before him.

"Naruto, are you listening? Did you here what I just said?!" Sakura was annoyed that Naruto was sitting in the chair and staring through her at this point but took into account that he might just be in shock.

"I just. . . .this was really unexpected. I came to talk to you about taking less missions and you tell me I'm up to be next Hokage?!" The blonde's voice had cracked when he repeated the words back to himself. Tsunade folded her hands on the desk and refused to look at anyone. "It seems that the elders believe someone younger might be more suited for the job." A vein throbbed in her head when she had to speak about her age but she took a deep breath then crushed her desk in half, walked through it and left the room.

"Trust me, I'm the last one to complain about the offer but, why me?"


	6. Chapter 6

"For someone that always wanted this you seemed really surprised." Sakura looked at him with her head cocked to the side. Was he just that oblivious still? He was the savior of the village for Christ's sake; they relied on him enough for everything else so why not give him the title and the perks along with all the weight that was laid on his shoulders?

"You just . . . caught me off guard I guess. I thought I had, more time?" He asked as if he were not only questioning the situation but himself. "I don't want to sound ungrateful, but do I really have a choice?" His unsure blue eyes focused on Sakura for support, something he had only just recently started receiving from her.

Kneeling down his teammate placed her hand on his forearm. "You'll do just fine Naruto. You've already saved us once without any knowledge of what you were up against. Just imagine what good you can do with the information you'll be in charge of now." Her smile was sweet, one that she would normally have reserved for Sasuke, the kind she used to try to use on him when they were younger. "The fact that we're still breathing is a miracle Naruto, don't take that lightly. The village needs you to survive." She gave him arm a small squeeze, almost standing to lean in and kiss his cheek. "Take a couple days to think it over and get back to me. I know you'll want to talk to your family about this."

Even with the room empty Naruto couldn't move, the whole day passed outside the window before him while he was frozen more in the fear of what if he wasn't able to stop a second attack or anything else that would come at them? The sorrow of families being torn apart, people loosing their lives, the destruction of the village would all be on him. What if he lost Sasuke or Menma? They were the only family he had left and even if he had to bare that thought each time he went of a mission it would only be escalated a thousand times over as the village became his family, each life something he would die to protect. Was he ready for this? A shuddering breath pulled into his chest, blinking back tears and setting the idea in his mind of what was now going to be his. Standing up was a struggle, getting home only made worse as his shoulders felt dragged down by his racing mind.

Making it inside his home he was greeted by the happy cries of his son as he hopped up from his play table and ran over to make grabby hands at Naruto. The boy was lifted as to give and receive a proper hug then carried over to Sasuke who was dressed down in his house clothes and cooking. Naruto kissed his husband and smiled, telling him he loved him. They ate dinner and gave their son a bath before setting him in bed, sharing some light reading before they retired themselves to their own room.

The night went by as a visage, a lie for Naruto that nothing would change even if his position did. He couldn't ask more and less of Sasuke at the same time, to give up his own position as a shinobi so that he would be able to handle more tasks for their son while he himself sat up in the Hokage tower to rule over the village. It would be selfish even if everyone in Konohagakure had always been aware of Naruto intentions as a shinobi. The part of him that felt his dream coming true was far out sighed by the nurturing part of him that grew every day.

If Menma lost his parents he could be faced with the same sorrow and lonesomeness that Naruto was his entire life. He could end up the host to demons and be ostracized for just being alive. Without his fathers there to protect him, who would? He was just a child.

Naruto rolled over in bed, away from his husband and clutched the blankets up to his chest to keep from breaking down. He had to be strong for more than himself now.

"What's bothering you?" Sasuke asked him a sleepy mumble, rolling over to spoon up behind the blonde.

"I don't know if I want to talk about it yet."

"Even to me?"

"Even to you."

"Let me know when you do. I worry." Sasuke kissed the hair line on Naruto's neck before nuzzling his face into a comfortable position to sleep.

"I know. Me too."


End file.
